There’s no better thing to do on a summer afternoon than to explore the back roads of New England? Around each corner there’s a new discovery; an ice cream stand, maybe an out of the way clam shack, and, of course, an art studio. One of Rhode Island’s best kept secrets is the east bay area of Tiverton and Little Compton, along with Westport and Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Turn off the GPS and see where you end up.

Add to a care-free afternoon of rural touring as the South Coast Artists welcome you to the Tenth Annual Open Studio Tour featuring over 70 exhibits working in various mediums as watercolors, oils, ceramics, glass, and of course photography. The tour will take place over two separate weekends this summer, July 20- 21 and August 17 – 18.

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This year I am excited to announce that Marianne Photography will be showing during the July weekend of 20-21. My work will showcase fine art photography from our own local coastlines and local farmland. Please stop in and say hello, I’ll be displaying at the Art Café & Gallery in Commons of Little Compton, Rhode Island. (map link)Read More…

It is always much easier to saythan it is to actuallydo. For example it’s easy to say, “I’m going to use less energy by riding my bike more places.” But to actually make that happen…well good intentions only go so far. I was asked to photograph a local LEED home For Newport Life’sHome edition where parents Derek and Tiffanie Boudreau are showing their kids that action speaks louder than words.

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LEED was a new term to me, but I quickly learned its importance. LEED, which stands for Leadership, Energy, Environment, and Design are the foundation of building standards for a more environmentally sound new or existing construction project.

Aside from the responsible building aspect, what really struck me was the positive message the Boudreaus, are sending to their young children. They are implementing green living into their everyday lifestyle so as the kids grow older, living in an eco-friendly manner will simply be how things are done. It won’t be some impossible task is pushed off to the side just because it’s challenging. They will grow up knowing the value in the simplicity of saving energy, water, and the environment. It’s nothing fancy, but in their world, green living will just be how things are done. Read More…

Everyone keeps asking me if I have sold my boards yet. About a year and a half ago Marianne and I became parents, so naturally everyone assumes every minute of the day is now consumed chasing the little one around. True, any free time is now like a little golden nugget found in the stream, but now the adventure activities are just different. Also, NO I have not sold any of my “boards” which includes surfboards, snowboards, mountainboard, and windsurfing boards.

But as I suspected there are all new adventures waiting for us; more family adventures.

Imagine a national park which features 50 miles or more of hiking trails yet there is no way to hike, bike, or drive to it. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore park on Lake Superior, includes 21 of 22 remote islands totaling 69,372 acres, is only accessible by water. Sailing and sea kayaking to the islands are the preferred method, but if people don’t have access to either, there is the National Park-sponsored water shuttle that can drop a party off at several of the island’s hiking & camping areas. Not surprising, National GeographicAdventure voted sailing the Apostle Islands as #5 of their top ten water adventures.

While sea kayaking to the islands would be a spectacular adventure, it is very limited by weather. Storms can whip up across the U.S. Plain States in a moment’s notice, and in the fall, gales can blow for days. Lake Superior is a lake that needs to be respected; she’s the boss.

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On a recent photo assignment I was thrilled to be able to explore the Apostles by sailboat; it’s always my first choice for water transportation. Because this assignment was through Cruising World magazine, Superior Yacht Charters provided us with both 50’ luxury sailboat and capable crew. They sailed the boat, guided us to unique locations, and served lovely, locally sourced meals. (Read CW story here)

It’s safe to say the Salve Regina University of today is not the Salve I graduated from 12 years ago. It has evolved into something even better. The students at Salve today seem much more involved; more of a community. In fact, when I have an assignment to shoot for them, I get to feeling even I’m part of their community. This past weekend’s three events are a perfect example.

The Cultural Festival started off the weekend trifecta. Salve has students from all over the globe including Nicaragua, Rwanda, Haiti and Nepal to name just a few. These students were proud to represent their home countries. Also, the evening included a dance portion highlighted by a light skinned belly dancer with gorgeous flaming red hair. She probably wasn’t from a traditional belly dancing country, but it was an excellent performance. The audience was into the belly dancing, and she even had some of the guys join her also shaking their hips!

The Cabaret, a dinner and music event, showcased some of Salve’s finest voices. However, the finest voice of them all was not from Salve. A high school student from the MET School moved everyone with her rendition of Cry Me a River. The crowd was blown away, and I’m pretty sure I there were a few tears.

It was Saturday’s Dance-A-Thon that made a huge impression on me. The object was to raise money for the Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network. Their goal; $15,000 in one night. Students remained on their feet for 18hours straight, raising money throughout the night. As they put it, “taking a stand for those who can’t”. All night a DJ spun tunes, there were activities, games, and food to keep them going to the end. Read More…

Years ago when I got into photography I never dreamed one of my assignments would be shooting livestock. For the last year of so I have been shooting endangered livestock at the Swiss Village Farm Foundation in Newport RI. On this assignment I have made quite a few new animal friends.

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The story itself is quite interesting. The Swiss Village Farm Foundation’s mission is to preserve endangered livestock. Endangered livestock? Yes! Believe it or not wild animals are not the only animals becoming extinct, many breeds of livestock, also known as Heritage Breeds, are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. According to the U.N. Agricultural Organization, globally we have been losing one breed per month. Just in the US during the 1930’s there were 15 breeds of pigs which now 6 are extinct and only 3 dominate the market. Why is this a big deal?

Rare “Heritage Breeds” carry valuable irreplaceable traits such as resistance to disease and parasites, just to name a few. Without these, the problem lies with the dominate industry breeds, that are highly inbreed and genetically uniform, which could be wiped out by only a single serious infectious disease. Think about it; one bad disease could seriously alter the nation’s food source. Without the lack of diversity in domestic livestock we are at great risk. Read More…

I’ve got some big events coming down the line; some which will require fresh images. This morning’s Dawn Photo Patrol presented some serious lighting challenges.

Scouting Around

I dragged myself out of my nice warm bed, which for me is no simple task, and headed to Westport Mass before the sun rose. I had some ideas churning around in my head for a while now, and I had a visual image in my mind of what the photograph should look like. I scouted a few good locations along the water’s edge, picked one, and set up camp.

When the sun finally came up, clouds moved in filtering out the morning light I was hoping for giving my shot kind of a drab look. Some days that is just how photography rolls; it can be hit or miss.

I made the best of it and used my time to scout future location for the morning when light cooperates. I’ll be back.